[3.6] SSF Beginner friendly Necromancer Zombie/Skeleton/Spectre VerxBuild

Create new character, choose Witch - we will pick our ascendancy (Necromancer) later on. Put in your name and then choose to play the game with your brand new character.

Turn off the in game tutorials.

Go into options and make sure your loot filter is set as high as it can go but still allow you to see the Fireball gem laying on the ground. On console this is NS 2 Semi Strict. While you are in the options I recommend changing a few settings to show mini life bars on allies, enemies, you, and to show ally names on the map. If on console, I find "Smart Flask" to be really handy. Also, set the map zoom to be all the way on the left, it really helps to see the entire map.

Move your character so they stand up, pick up the wand, talk to the Dying Exile, kill the Hungry Corpse.

For now, just go along the beach edge and as soon as you see an enemy, make sure there is a clean path between you and them with no obstacles (otherwise your attacks will hit the obstacle instead of the enemy!), and just attack with your wand. If you are really lucky, you will find a mana flask here on the beach. One of your first priorities is to have three mana flasks, so remember that (either find them all or buy some to get to three mana flasks). One tip in this regard - every five WHITE items you find and sell becomes a Wisdom Scroll, which this early in the game is your main currency for buying things. For that reason, if you aren't finding what you need, I'd recommend collecting and selling the first 10-15 white items you find just to get some initial Wisdom Scrolls to use for buying things. Along these lines, DO NOT identify any items that you find so that you can save your Wisdom Scrolls for purchasing things. The solitary exception is if you find a yellow (rare) item and really think it might help you. Boots are a good candidate for this, as they might have a movement speed buff to make everything faster for you.

Some general things that are good to know (some are mentioned elsewhere in this guide as well):

1. Every five white items you sell gives you a Wisdom Scroll, which are used to identify items as well as to buy LOTS of the things you will need for a brand new character.
2. Three flasks of the same type can be sold to a vendor to upgrade to the next flask level
3. Every time you level up, the things each vendor sells will have changed
4. You need to get three items each with three blue, linked sockets. So keep an eye out for these, don't sell them, and if you aren't finding them, check with Tarkleigh periodically to see if he has some for sale.
5. If you see an item with three linked sockets each of a different color, these can be sold for Chromatic Orbs which are very useful later in the game to change the color of the sockets in your items
6. You want to find or buy boots with "Increased Movement Speed". For this reason you might want to use some of your Wisdom Scrolls to identify boots.
7. In general, don't identify items in the early game - the Wisdom Scrolls are more valid to use to buy things you will need.
8. You will be putting some gems into your gear just to level the gems up. In those cases, it is ok to put the gems into sockets on your "off hand" weapons if you'd like. This is a relatively easy way to make sure you have the right colored sockets to do this early in the game if you've been unlucky finding what you need. If the guide tells you to setup a chain of gems and you don't yet have an item to allow it (say the chain calls for three blue sockets all linked together but you only have an item with two linked blue sockets), then take the third gem and put it in another blue socket on another item. This will allow it to level up until you DO have the item required to link them together as described in the guide.

We want to DISABLE auto leveling for "Arcane Surge Support". On PS4, you do this by moving the selection to the wand, pressing the "O" button, moving the selection to the Arcane Surge gem, and pressing triangle. We are disabling the auto level because we want to get mana back as soon as possible rather than after spending a lot of mana (read the in game text about what the gem does), which is what would happen if we let the gem level up. By keeping it at level 1, we can get mana back almost continuously while we are casting spells.

Continue along the beach edge until you eventually get to the first mini boss, Hillock. Keep your distance from him so he cannot hit you. Basically what you want to do is walk away from him along the beach edge, shoot fireballs (should be square button on PS4) at him until he gets close, and then run away again to repeat. Watch your blue mana bar closely, when it gets low, drink a potion (the R1 button on console).

You should make very quick work of him. After you get to level 2, go into your inventory screen and then switch tabs to Passives. Put your first skill point onto "Energy Shield and Mana Regeneration", right above and to the right of your starting point.

You should see the entrance to Lioneye's Watch on your map as a door icon.

Our first six Passive Points (including the one we just did) will be as follows:

Energy Shield and Mana Regeneration
Energy Shield and Minion Life
Minion Daamage
Minion Attack and Cast Speed
Minion Damage
Deep Wisdom

Our first goals, all limited by how many Wisdom Scrolls we have are:

1. Either one item with three linked blue sockets or two items each with two linked blue sockets
2. Three Small Mana Flasks equipped
3. Longer term (by level): two wands with three linked blue sockets

Once in Lioneye's watch go up the ramp and past the waypoint to get into town.

Talk to Nessa, Bestel, and Tarkleigh. Choose "Raise Zombie" when you talk to Nessa and put it where your fireball gem was in your wand. Buy "Freezing Pulse" gem from Nessa (this will be available on the second tab).

You need at a MINIMUM one item with at least one blue socket. If you didn't pick one up, then sell everything you picked up and buy an item from Tarkleigh that has a blue socket and then equip that item. Better than just this one blue socket would be linked blue sockets - check the "Planning" section above for what your goals would be here.

Each time you are in town (assuming you've leveled up at least once since the last time you are in town), Tarkleigh and Nessa will have new items. Check them for HOPEFULLY three blue socket items with links between all sockets. That is your goal - to get these in any item for either weapon, head armor, chest armor, boots, or gloves.

NOTE: You cannot equip both wands and scepters at the same time, so pick one or the other.